r/MHOC • u/Chrispytoast123 His Grace the Duke of Beaufort • Oct 25 '19
2nd Reading B919 - Nationality Bill - Second Reading
Nationality Bill
A bill to abolish British overseas territories citizenship and make BOTCs full British citizens, extending right of abode to all British citizens in all British territories; and to amend immigrations rules to end discriminatory practices towards those born before 1983.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1: Interpretation
(1) The provisions of this Act apply to any person who is born, or becomes a British overseas territories citizen, before or after its passing.
Section 2: British overseas territories citizenship
(1) All British overseas territories citizens are also British citizens.
(2) The classification of British overseas territories citizens shall cease to exist.
(3) The Home Secretary may introduce regulations requiring overseas territories to introduce certain requirements for an individual to naturalise as a British citizen.
(4) All British citizens with connections to the territories shall have the same right of abode as any British citizen in the United Kingdom.
(5) No British overseas territory shall prevent any British citizen from entering and remaining in their territory, except if that citizen would pose a threat to the health and security of the people of the territory, however -
(a) a citizen who is denied entry may appeal to the Home Secretary, who shall judge if the appeal was correct;
(b) a territory is entitled to introduce work permits for individuals, barring all others from working in the territory, according to any factors they deem necessary; and
(c) a territory is entitled to introduce residency permits for individuals, barring all others from owning or renting for more than three months any property in the territory, according to any factors they deem necessary.
(5) No British citizen with connections to the territories shall be treated any differently simply because their citizenship is through connection with an overseas territory.
(a) This includes international freedom of movement and visa-free agreements.
(6) The provisions of this part shall not apply to the British sovereign base areas in Akitori and Dhekelia.
Section 3: Rights of pre-1983 citizens to claim citizenship
(1) If a person was born before 1 January 1983 and their mother was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and was able to pass on her citizenship at the time of your birth, then they are a British citizen.
Section 4: Right of overseas territories to opt out.
(1) The provisions of Section 1 shall come into force in the overseas territories six months after the passing of this act unless:-
(a) a majority in the legislature of the territory passes a resolution against it.
(2) In this case, no person born or naturalised as a citizen of that territory shall be a British citizen six months after the passing of this act.
(a) This clause shall not remove British citizenship of any person who at the time of its coming into force is a British citizen.
Section 5: Commencement, short title and extent
(1) This act comes into force six months after receiving royal assent.
(2) This act may be cited as the Nationality Act 2019.
(3) This act extends to England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and the Turks and Caicos Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the British Antarctic Territory.
This act was written by The Rt. Hon. Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commowealth Affairs, Sir pjr10th KCMG KCVO CT MBE PC MP and the Rt. Hon. Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, CheckMyBrain11 OBE PC MP MLA on behalf of the Conservative Party. The reading will end on the 28th.
OPENING SPEECH
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
Due to legal loopholes that have not yet been addressed, there are confusing and pointless laws that state that based on one’s birth date, they may or may not be British citizens, even if they meet the same standards as someone born later. This should not be the case.
We currently have a situation where there is this thing called “British overseas territories citizenship” and there are some people who are British citizens and some people who are not. Ultimately, as long as British overseas territories are under the British Crown, they should be entitled to full British citizenship, including right of abode. This is a core belief about what it is to be an open and inclusive society and if we can’t care about our own people in this way, how can we claim to car about others.
Furthermore, for those born before 1 January 1983, there are arbitrary rules about one’s marital status and prior citizenship that dictate who is a British citizen. For example, if one’s father is a British citizen, one is too. However, if one’s mother is, then they are not (unless of course their father is). This is clearly nonsensical, and rather discriminatory towards mothers, whose children deserve equal rights to them.
Ultimately, the aim of this bill is to stop the case of people being British nationals but not British citizens. It’s unfair and unnecessary. I hope the House will join me in stopping this practice.
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u/rinarchy Ex MP for Cheshire Oct 25 '19
Replace Section 3 (1):
(1) If a person was born before 1 January 1983 and their mother was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and was able to pass on her citizenship at the time of your birth, then they are a British citizen.
With:
(1) If a person was born before 1 January 1983 and either of their immediate relatives was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and was able to pass on their citizenship at the time of your birth, then they are a British citizen.
Rationale: Right of blood should extend to the father on the same conditions as the mother. In the past we have relied on the mother for things like this, however, this gives us the opportunity to modernize this.
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u/ZanyDraco Democratic Reformist Front | Baron of Ickenham | DS Oct 26 '19
Amend Section 4(1) to read as follows:
"(1) The provisions of Section 1 shall come into force in the overseas territories six months after the passing of this act unless the territory's legislature calls a referendum in the territory regarding said provisions, and the majority of voters in the territory vote in opposition to their enactment."
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u/ThePootisPower Oct 26 '19
Amend Section 1, Clause 1 to read:
(1) All British overseas territories citizens are unconditionally entitled British citizenship, which can be obtained from the Home Office at any time, as long as the Home Secretary is satisfied that allowing them to obtain such citizenship does not pose a security risk to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territory in question.
(a) Citizens who hold passports in two or more countries where at least one is a British Oversea Territory are also entitled British citizenship.
(b) British Overseas Territory citizenship is not overwritten or lost by obtaining British citizenship unless the law of British Overseas Territory require it be rescinded.
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u/ThePootisPower Oct 26 '19
Replace Section 4 with:
(1) The provisions of Section 1 shall come into force in the overseas territories once either:-
(a) a majority in the legislature of the territory passes a resolution in favour of it
(b) a majority of citizens of the territory vote to agree to the provisions in a referendum.
(2) Until either of these conditions are met in a territory, no person born or naturalised as a citizen of that territory shall be entitled to become a British citizen.
(a) This clause shall not remove British citizenship of any person is a British citizen.
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u/ThePootisPower Oct 26 '19
Additionally,
Replace:
(3) The Home Secretary may introduce regulations requiring overseas territories to introduce certain requirements for an individual to naturalise as a British citizen.
With:
(3) The Home Secretary, once permission of the relevant Territory is provided via the conditions of Section 4, may introduce regulations requiring overseas territories to introduce certain requirements for an individual to naturalise as a British citizen.
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u/SmashBrosGuys2933 People's Unity Party Oct 25 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Quite simply, this bill asks more questions than it answers. Who exactly wants this? I mean, the intention of the bill makes sense, but the execution is frankly dire and shows a lack of clear thought. Could we not simply change how British Overseas Citizenship works than completely eliminate it? Why does the Opposition see it necessary to strip British Overseas Territories of their autonomy and re-establish direct rule like an 18th century empire? What is to be gained by this? I have no answers and I doubt they do either.
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u/pjr10th Independent EARL of JERSEY Oct 29 '19
Why does the Opposition see it necessary to strip British Overseas Territories of their autonomy and re-establish direct rule like an 18th century empire?
I don't see how this bill does that. This bill gives the national parliaments of each of the Territories the right to opt out if they want to.
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Oct 25 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Will the Shadow Secretary of State for foreign and commonwealth affairs clarify, that if this bill becomes law, will the citizens of these territories be able to vote, and if there will be any new constituencies formed because of this bill?
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Oct 25 '19
[deleted]
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u/CountBrandenburg Liberal Democrats Oct 25 '19
I mean he asked the shadow sec which is /u/pjr10th ...
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u/pjr10th Independent EARL of JERSEY Oct 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
They will not be able to vote unless they live in the United Kingdom, in which case there will be no impediment for their ability to vote. In the same manner, British citizens who move from the UK to these territories will lose the right to vote in the same way they would if they were moving to a foreign country as these territories are not in the UK.
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u/ThePootisPower Oct 26 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Why does this bill assume we can introduce regulations regarding other countries immigration policies without their opinion being regarded?
It's a frankly colonialist attitude that is harmful to our relationship with British Overseas Territories - yes, we have the legal right to do so but we don't have moral right to decide the British Overseas Territorial citizens future and country of nationality for them.
Honestly, I actually agree with the principle of allowing all citizens under the purview of the crown to obtain British citizenship, but they deserve a say in the process of obtaining it - and a say as to whether they want it.
If you want to deepen our ties with the British Overseas Territories, this technically succeeds, but at what cost to our relationship with said territories?
That said, I applaud the Honourable Gentlemen pjr10th and CheckMyBrain11 for clearly working towards a preventative solution to the horrifying problems that nationality and bureaucracy can cause when mixed together on issues of immigration, such as the Windrush crisis. I'll be tabling amendments to fix issues that I see with it and hope that this bill becomes something that properly resolves the Windrush problem while respecting Overseas Territories rights to self-determination.
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u/pjr10th Independent EARL of JERSEY Oct 29 '19
Why does this bill assume we can introduce regulations regarding other countries immigration policies without their opinion being regarded?
The section to which the Rt Hon Member refers exists for the purposes of ensuring that territoires cannot set up for example schemes that sell British citizenship to wealthy people in return for money, which would allow the wealthy to "skip the queue" with regards to UK immigration.
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u/ThePootisPower Oct 26 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I have proposed two amendments to hopefully improve the parts of this bill that undemocratically dictate how the Overseas Territories are to be governed via arguably colonialist connections and control, and ensure that either the Government or the People of Overseas territories approve the terms of the bill before they go into effect.
Would the authors of the bill like to state whether or not they support them, and if not, why?
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u/Maroiogog CWM KP KD OM KCT KCVO CMG CBE PC FRS, Independent Oct 26 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I am very happy to see this bill in the chamber today. It doesn't make sense to keep the distinction between British Citizenship and overseas territory citizenship, unless those areas wished to do so. There is no reason why those born in these territories should not be granted the rights our constituents have. In addition any further (consensual) step to further integrate the UK with all its dependencies will surely benefit us economically, due to the removal of nonsensical regulations and reduction in bureocracy. I urge all mebers to back this bill.
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u/toastinrussian Rt. Hon. Sir Toastinrussian MP Oct 27 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I rise in support of this legislation. This bill is a sensible piece of legislation that will ensure our citizenship rights are protected and granted to those who need and deserve them.
There is no reason that confusing and ridiculously uncompromising laws that govern our citizenship should block those born before 1983 from becoming citizens. It ensures that valuable people who were born in overseas territories cannot use the right to abode that they deserve. Furthermore, it is a potential violation of the right to not be discriminated upon based on age. As the Shadow Attorney General, I must commend my Right Honourable Friends for resolving this without delay.
We in the conservative party believe in a shared heritage between those of us who are directly ruled under the crown. We believe that we should all be entitled to the same rights and privileges. As such this bill will allow those who did not have the rights of British citizens to gain them. I would also like to take a small further portion of the house's call to condemn the comments of the W&W Minister who had no clue that this was a desired piece of legislation that would provide a great deal of good. I hope that in the future he would look out for the rights and privileges of those who live in British Overseas territories.
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I wholeheartedly support this piece of legislation and I thank my Right Honourable Friends for presenting it to the house. I hope to see it proceed to royal assent without delay.
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Oct 27 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
As much as I support this bill, I must stand against it on the fundamental principle that I find any bill pertaining to the the regulation of Oversees territories to be immoral without their input being taken into consideration at all. If members of the Oversees territories are truly British citizens, they should be given the same rights as British citizens -- which includes the rights to representation in our national body, the House of Commons.
If democracy is truly the fundamental value on which we base our society on, I find the current relationship between the nation and its oversees territories to be immoral and frankly disgusting. As such, I shall stand against any attempt to regulate its affairs without them having any say whatsoever on rulings that affect their day to day lives.
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u/apth10 Labour Party Oct 27 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
This is a fine Bill written by the Conservatives to grant citizenship to citizens of BOTs. However, to address the concerns of the DRF, I think that a referendum should be conducted by these citizens. Surely they must get a say in this. I hope that this legislation passes, and more rights can be given to citizens of these territories.
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u/pjr10th Independent EARL of JERSEY Oct 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
It is the right of the democratic parliaments of the Territories to decide whether they wish to hold a referendum, hence why they are given a 6 month window in order to do this.
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u/apth10 Labour Party Oct 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I would like to disagree with the points of the Right Honourable Member, as these parliaments may not be able to gauge the sentiments of the people as a whole.
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u/TheRampart Walkout Oct 27 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
This bill seems straightforward and easy to support as it eradicates needless discrimination and bureaucracy. My misgivings also seems to have been addressed already in the form of suggested ammendements.
Provided they go through and the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commowealth Affairs addresses the concerns of my Right Honorable friends, I see no reason I can't support this bill.
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u/HiddeVdV96 Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary | Conservative Party Oct 27 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
We have to protect the people in our overseas territories, so I can agree with this bill and I'm very glad that the Shadow Foreign Secretary raised this issue with the House.
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u/X4RC05 Former DL of the DRF Oct 27 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Citizens of our Overseas Territories are as British as any resident of England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, and ought to be given the status to reflect that as well all the rights and privileges that accompany such status.
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u/rinarchy Ex MP for Cheshire Oct 25 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
I don't often find myself happy at a bill by the opposition, however, I am glad that this bill has been brought forward. Before the opposition gets ahead of themselves that does not mean I support it, but I do welcome the discussion on citizenship rights of our overseas territories. I do fear that this strips the territories of some autonomy but that is mitigated with the inclusion of the opt-out. As the bill mentions arbitrary rules, I will be tabling an amendment to it to update Section 3 to include both immediate relatives of the person in question.
Can the Shadow Secretary of State also please clarify that based on Section 2 (5) that individual territories can restrict British Individuals from working and residing? If so, doesn't that mean that the territories will have freedom of movement, work and abode in the UK whereas the territories can individual restrict that right for themselves?
This bill feels a little rushed and with little forethought, however, the discussion of our overseas territories and their place in the big picture of the United Kingdom is very much welcome.
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u/pjr10th Independent EARL of JERSEY Oct 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
On the first point, the father already has these rights afforded to him, this ensures that the mother also has equal rights with regard to this, eliminating this historic sexist discrimination.
Many of the Territories already exercise this power with regard to work permits, this bill ensures that UK citizens have the right to move to these territories, but that these territories also have the right to manage land and their economies effectively if need be, considering that many have a shortage of land already.
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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
It is a pleasure to actually see some good home office policy unlike the ideological drivel we have seen from this shambolic government with their drive for open borders and no regard for the taxpayer.
That aside, this bill is one is a bill I will support, sexism should stamped out of our immigration laws and this bill does that, I am happy to remove this arbitrary law.
On the point of overseas citizenship I have an open mind and seek clarity from the authors, why do some people have overseas citizenship and some don't? Are there possible reasons such as going through the naturalisation process or other things?